Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4 - 7 2018 | Page 167

Going Forward into History
St. Mary's Canossian College, Tang, Ally - 15
T
he girl closed the book with an inaudible sigh. The familiar headache blocked all her thoughts, as
she gripped the book in her hand tightly. “Ling! Are you alright?” A hand grabbed her arm. Ling
looked up, and saw her friend looking at her, concerned. She shook her head, “No, I’m fine, thank
you, “She gently freed herself from the tight grip, “Well...I’ll get going now, thank you for your help,” Ling
said gently, as she took a step back and turned around, put the book back onto the shelf, and left the library.
“It happens every time….why?” Ling muttered to herself.
***
Up in the sky, a dragon’s roar broke the chattering among the crowd, as a shimmer of gold fell. Slowly, a
male appeared his expressions grim and serious. “Where are they?” He demanded, as he looked at the guard
next to him. “Your Majesty….We….We lost them….” the guard slowly stammered out the ,shaking. The
crowd fell silent finally, as a wave of shock overtook everyone. “What….do you mean...you lost them…?”
The male in the golden cloak asked quietly, his posture tense, but demanding attention. “They….they
defeated all our guards….and escaped…” The guard answered. The crowd finally came back to their senses,
and started their chatter once more, as they discussed the possibilities . Could they finally be gone? Are they
going to disappear forever? This would be a relief for a lot of us! They thought to themselves. “Silence!”
roared the male, “ I want absolute silence! Everyone! Calm yourselves and behave like a God should!” The
crowd immediately fell to their knees, obeying his order immediately, while they chorused, “I apologize,
your majesty”. The Jade Emperor turned back to the guard, “What did I tell you over and over again?
Today is Judgement Day!” He glared at the bowing guard.
“ Do not fret, your majesty” A voice rang out from the far distance, as a tall figure stepped into sight,
carrying a bag. “What is it now, Yang Jian?” The Jade Emperor asked, sighing. His patience was reaching its
limit, and Yang Jian sensed that. Giving the Emperor a smirk, the War God flung the bag to the floor of the
court. “Delivery for you, you’re welcome!” Yang Jian laughed, as three figures toppled out of the bag.
“Gods, what is this bag! It smells like sweat combined with ...I don’t know!” A monkey-like figure groaned
as he stepped out of the bag, rubbing his head. Two other figures followed, one pig-like, and the other
glancing around uncomfortably. Grinning at the tense crowd, the monkey gave a wave, letting out a laugh.
“Oh my！It’s been a while since there were these many people! The last time this happened was when I
came back from getting the Book of the West!” he shouted at the crowd, with excitement evident on his
face. “Enough of this idiocity!” The Emperor roared, enraged. “Sun Wukong! Zhu Bajie!Sha Wujing! You
three are called here to receive your punishments for your reckless behaviours! I have told you time and
time again that as a god, you should not interfere with mortal business! But what have you done?! You went
again to the mortal world and left a mess! Do you expect us to help you clean up every time you play
around? This time even losing the Book of the West again!” The Emperor roared, as the sky rumbled with
thunder. Sun Wukong merely rolled his eyes, “C’mon old man, it’s not like you aren’t used to this! Plus, if I
remember correctly, the last time you were famous would be when you sent me with these annoying people
to that trip! With that annoying monk!It’s a miracle that the book could stay here for more than 100 years
already. Don’t you see how clumsy and careless the guards are! One hit from me could knock them
down .How pathetic!” The Monkey King’s eyes stared challengingly into the Jade Emperor’s, as the the
elder of the two suddenly got an idea, and declared his final judgement. “Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha
Wujing! You three are now banished from the Heavens, and shall find the next life of your old master,Xuan
Zang! Accompany them to find the lost Book of the West, and protect them. Otherwise, you shall be
banished from the heavens forever!”No one had the time to reply, as a wave of a hand dragged them into
what seemed to be the inside of a hurricane, tugging the shouting three into the unknown.
***
Tang Ling threw down her bag of books, and lied on her bed, thinking about the headache again. It
happens every time she reads a book about the legend of the Journey to the West. Somehow, whenever she
opened the book, or listened to the story, she got a massive headache so painful that she could hardly
concentrate on the story.Stranger yet, the headache immediately stopped when she stopped listening,or